Changes in technology and their effect on quality patient care – Week 5 Solution

This article analyzes Changes in technology and their effect on quality patient care.

Instructions

Evaluate factors that influence safe, quality patient-centered care. Consider:

• Technology
• Communication 
• Collaboration
• Shared decision-making
• Laws, regulations, and policies

Analyze changes in technology and their effect on quality patient care.

Explain the roles of communication, collaboration, and shared decision-making.

Consider communication and collaboration between health care team members, between the patient and staff, and involving insurance companies.

Solution

Changes in technology and their effect on quality patient care

Quality Factors

Several factors influence the safety and quality of patient-centered care in healthcare settings. Some of these factors include technology, communication, shared decision-making, laws, regulations, and policies. This essay evaluates and explains how these factors affect the quality of patient care.

Technology

Technology has a significant impact in promoting the safety and quality of patient care. Technology improves the nursing process by reducing miscommunication or errors between healthcare professionals (Kruse & Beane, 2017). Different professionals are involved in their care throughout a patient’s clinical journey, which increases the probability of miscommunication or errors. Miscommunication is known to contribute to adverse patient events. However, technological innovations such as electronic health records can collate patient data to ease access. As a result, healthcare personnel can coordinate and collaborate efficiently while attending to patients at different times.

Moreover, technology contributes to the implementation of patient-centered care by fostering provider-patient communication. For instance, technology advancements such as online portals and text or email messaging are crucial in encouraging patient participation in their care to improve compliance and satisfaction (Kruse & Beane, 2017). Besides, patients can easily access their medical records, which facilitates convenience, fostering self-monitoring. In this regard, technology has contributed to high practice efficiencies and consistent patient and clinical data tracking in healthcare.

The other significant role technology play in healthcare is the reduction of medication and prescription errors. According to Rouleau et al. (2017), information technology has significantly reduced medication and prescription errors through access to reference information in medical devices, databases, or online textbooks. For instance, automated medical prescribing or dispensing machines have made it easier for physicians and registered nurses to make appropriate medication prescriptions by sending prescriptions electronically (Beane, 2018). Equally, bedside nurses can verify these prescriptions through the dispensing systems to ascertain the medicine’s safety. Therefore, the associated clinical flags and reminders can help avert critical medication errors and improve nursing safety.

Communication 

Studies have shown that effective clinical communication enhances the patient experience and reduces complaints (Fakhr-Movahedi, Rahnavard, Salsali, & Negarandeh, 2016). Besides, effective communication contributes to improved self-confidence, satisfaction, low stress levels, professional image, and career prospects among nurses. Arguably, communication is vital in all aspects, facets, and environments in nursing, particularly regarding interventions, i.e., treatments, rehabilitation, or health promotion. Other crucial nursing interventions that require effective communication include rehabilitation, patient education, or prevention activities.

Although nursing intervention revolves around scientific concepts, its achievement majorly depends on interpersonal dialogue through skilled verbal communication.

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Fakhr-Movahedi et al. (2016) argue that good communication improves care quality. Therefore, effective communication is an absolute right for patients and mandatory in creating functional relationships among medical teams and patients. For instance, effective and successful therapeutic interventions, health education, and promotion require oral communication. This allows patients to communicate their perception of medical conditions and their desire for health outcomes and values, critical components of patient-centered practice. Equally, nurses explain the appropriate medical interventions for patients and use the patient’s data with the utmost discretion to guide appropriate treatment and rehabilitation plans.

Collaboration

Healthcare delivery settings include participation from patients, families, and a diverse medical team. According to Morley and Cashel (2017), cooperation and coordination among these individuals are crucial to providing safe and quality care. Significantly, the collaboration between professional teams helps prevent medication errors, miscommunication, improves patient experience and desirable patient outcomes. Notably, these benefits can help reduce medical costs arising from adverse health events.

Moreover, collaboration plays a crucial role in creating a multifunctional team with more efficiency, innovativeness, and appropriate risk management ability (Morley & Cashell, 2017). Significantly, collaboration facilitates equal acknowledgment of medical groups, creating a sense of community and commentary. All these benefits are vital for effective care delivery and patient safety. Thus, collaboration helps providers enhance workflow and avoid operational inefficiency, contributing to poor health outcomes among patients.

Shared decision-making

Shared decision-making contributes to effective treatment interventions, which enhances patient experiences and safety. According to Grad et al. (2017), shared decision-making facilitates a structured way of integrating evidence, patient values, and preferences when making treatment decisions. Mainly, shared decision-making support discussions leading to informed choices corresponding with the pressing patient’s needs. This increases provider’s satisfaction in the sense that they are listening, supporting their patients, and are compelled to improve the quality of care they provide.

Furthermore, shared decision-making empowers patients to contribute to their health in ways that reflect their preferences. Incorporating patient values influences better health outcomes for them (Grad et al., 2017). A study by the American Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) revealed that empowered patients feel more engaged and heal faster (AHRQ, 2017). The AHRQ study also showed that shared decision-making reduces patient anxiety, quickens recovery and medication adherence. Furthermore, a shared decision-making process can facilitate nurse-patient trust and help medical personnel engage and communicate appropriately with patients.

When patients have a platform to voice their clinical preference and understand associated benefits and risks, it is associated with satisfaction with medical services (AHRQ, 2017). Consequently, patients involved in decision-making become knowledgeable about their status, which is crucial for self-monitoring and consequent recovery. As a result, patients engaged in decision-making do not regret the eventual choice of treatment and are determined to achieve better health outcomes.

Laws, regulations, and policies

Healthcare laws, regulations, and policies contribute to effective nursing practices. According to Kachalia, Mello, Nallamothu, and Studdert (2016), regulatory bodies and healthcare providers are involved in legal provisions to protect consumers and medical personnel from several health risks. Besides, regulations are crucial in establishing patient health and safety programs. Together, laws and policies protect and regulate healthcare provisions at every level of governance, i.e., local, state, and federal government. Consequently, legal, regulatory, and policy provisions strengthen care delivery, improve medical personnel performance, and guaranty accessible and affordable healthcare.

References

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. (2017). Strategy 6I: Shared Decision-making. Retrieved 5 August 2021, from https://www.ahrq.gov/cahps/quality-improvement/improvement-guide/6-strategies-for-improving/communication/strategy6i-shared-decisionmaking.html

Fakhr-Movahedi, A., Rahnavard, Z., Salsali, M., & Negarandeh, R. (2016). Exploring nurse’s communicative role in nurse-patient relations: A qualitative study. Journal of caring sciences, 5(4), 267. 10.15171/jcs.2016.028

Grad, R., Légaré, F., Bell, N. R., Dickinson, J. A., Singh, H., Moore, A. E., … & Kretschmer, K. L. (2017). Shared decision making in preventive health care: What it is; what it is not. Canadian Family Physician, 63(9), 682-684. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5597010/

Kachalia, A., Mello, M. M., Nallamothu, B. K., & Studdert, D. M. (2016). Legal and policy interventions to improve patient safety. Circulation, 133(7), 661-671. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.015880

Kruse, C. S., & Beane, A. (2018). Health information technology continues to show a positive effect on medical outcomes: a systematic review. Journal of medical Internet research, 20(2), e8793. 10.2196/jmir.8793

Morley, L., & Cashell, A. (2017). Collaboration in health care. Journal of medical imaging and radiation sciences, 48(2), 207-216. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jmir.2017.02.071

Rouleau, G., Gagnon, M. P., Côté, J., Payne-Gagnon, J., Hudson, E., & Dubois, C. A. (2017). Impact of information and communication technologies on nursing care: results of an overview of systematic reviews. Journal of medical Internet research, 19(4), e122. 0.2196/jmir.6686

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